Russia offers to host talks between Afghan government, Taliban

KABUL (Pajhwok): Russia has called for urgent talks between Afghan government and the Taliban and offered to host such talks, a statement from its Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday

“We strongly recommend that negotiations start as soon as possible... to put an end to the civil war,” the ministry said.

The statement added, Moscow was ready to provide a platform for direct talks between Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban movement.

The statement came ahead of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to New York on January 18-19. He will take part in the UN Security Council meetings on non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons and the situation in Afghanistan, TASS reported.

“The experience of international efforts on stabilization in Afghanistan shows the ineffectiveness of attempts to solve problems by force,” the ministry said.